Tuesday, September 20, 2011

As my daughters have gotten older, I've found that I appreciate toys that are high quality, versatile, educational and fun more and more. After having seen so many that fall apart or are just plain boring, when we're introduced to a company that knows what works for kids as well as their parents, it's easy to deem them a winner.

With their smart, fresh solutions for parents and their baby that deliver convenience, value and fun throughout each day, Bright Starts is known for putting fun first. Offering high quality products for everything from feeding to playtime to safety and more, you can easily find the item for at home or on-the-go that will work for the little one in your life.

When the Pop & Roll Roadster arrived, Big Sister E and Little Sister B were drawn to the box like magnets. Designed for ages 12 - 36 months, Big Sister E was technically too old for this toy... but that didn't stop her from being just as excited to see what it could do.

After taking the pieces out of the box, I was happy to see that the entire Roadster was nearly completely put together already. I appreciate that Bright Starts has taken into account the amount of time that it can take to assemble larger toys, not to mention that if this was given as a gift that the young recipient would want to play with it immediately.

After snapping the steering wheel and spoiler into place and screwing on the gear shift handle, we installed two AA batteries (not included) in the bottom and were ready to roll.

Everything about the Pop & Roll Roadster is designed to grab your toddler's attention and have them laughing. Right as they hop on the wide, sturdy seat for a ride, they have easy access to the horn and power buttons that play a variety of noises, music, engine sounds and more - what kid doesn't love a car that makes noise?

What makes the Pop & Roll Roadster unique, however, is the hole in the center of the steering wheel that allows the child to drop the three colorful balls (included) right down inside the transparent hood.

When the child goes for a ride, not only do they get to hear the silly sounds, but they are able to glance down and see the balls bouncing and popping around in the hood. Then, with one pull on the gear shift, a ball comes shooting out from the front so that kids can really see the cause-and-effect of their action... plus it's fun!

Little Sister B has had a great time riding around, shooting the balls, and dancing to the music with this Roadster and will often tell me matter-of-factly that she's going for a drive in her car while heading over to it.

Due to the steering wheel not turning (therefore making it a little more difficult to steer), her rides tend to stay in one area... and are mostly spent putting the balls in and shooting them out over and over again.

And when she's done, I'm a big fan of the fact that the balls can be stored right inside the hood of the car, as otherwise I'm sure they would have already been lost in the depths of our house somewhere. Instead, they are right there ready for play next time!

Retailing for $34.99 (but found for less at Toys 'R Us and more on Amazon), the Pop & Roll Roadster is just one from the great Having a Ball collection of toys that Bright Starts offers. With a variety of surprising and entertaining toys for toddlers, each one makes it fun to learn colors, shapes, numbers and more through lights, music, and movement. Learning has never been so much fun!

And, thanks to the generosity of Bright Starts, one person will get to have the child in their life discover that as well (or else they'll have a great gift), because...

One lucky person will win a Bright Starts Having a BallPop & Roll Roadster!

To enter to win: Visit Bright Starts and tell me another of their fun and innovative products that you would like to own.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Bright Starts on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook.1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email, become a fan on Facebook or add Thanks, Mail Carrier to your blogroll.3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on October 11th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Bright Starts for providing a Having a Ball Pop & Roll Roadster for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.